Eighth-Grade Teacher Charged with Sending ‘Sexually Explicit Photos’ to Students – State’s First Update

In July 2024, the New Castle County Police Department was notified that a teacher at St. Mary Magdalen School had sent sexually explicit photographs to a 14-year-old former student, officials said Friday.

Detectives from the New Castle County Division of Police Criminal Investigation Division were notified and took over the investigation. They found that 24-year-old Alanis Pinion, an 8th grade teacher, had frequently communicated with her students via Snapchat and had sent sexually explicit photos to one of them. When the allegation was made public, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was contacted, informed, and fully cooperated with the investigation.

Alanis Pinion was taken into custody on Thursday, July 18, 2024, and then transported to the New Castle County Sheriff’s Office. She was charged with one count of sexual battery of a child under 18, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of first-degree public nuisance.

Pinion was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 2 and committed to Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution for failure to post $46,000.00 bail.

The police department is concerned that there may be additional victims who have not come forward. Detectives are asking anyone with information related to this investigation to contact Detective Daniel Watson at (302) 395-8030 or via email at (email protected).